May 16, 2014

U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and NOPD Hold Joint Training Session on Investigating Police Corruption

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. announced that on May 13, 2014, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New Orleans Police Department held a joint seminar on the subject of “Investigating and Prosecuting Police Misconduct and Corruption.” The event, held at U.S. Attorney Polite’s office, included attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Unit, special agents from the FBI Civil Rights and Public Corruption Squads, and the entire staff of the New Orleans Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit.

The purpose of the seminar was to foster cooperation and encourage the prosecutors and investigators to work joint investigations. The trainers were members of the Tarnished Badge Law Enforcement Task Force from Memphis, Tennessee. This task force is composed of members from the United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Memphis Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. This is a full-time task force that exclusively work police corruption and civil rights violations. In the past seven years the Tarnished Badge Task Force has convicted in excess of 65 law enforcement officers in federal court.

Speakers included:

  • U.S. Attorney Polite
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson
  • New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas
  • Memphis Police Lt. Matthew Whittington and FBI Special Agent Anthony Householder, who provided specific training on investigative techniques, working with informants, and interview techniques. They also presented several case studies on specific investigations conducted by the task force.
  • Assistant United States Attorney Steve Parker, the former Chief of the Civil Rights and Law Enforcement Corruption Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Memphis. Mr. Parker is now on special assignment to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans working on the NOPD Consent Decree. Mr. Parker presentation focused on the federal statutes used to prosecute police misconduct and the use of the federal grand jury in these investigations.

U.S. Attorney Polite stated, “This seminar is the first of its kind in our District. We can and must do better in addressing police misconduct, and this seminar represents our renewed commitment to increasing collaboration and coordination amongst those involved in investigating and prosecuting these cases. Our shared expertise, intelligence, and investigative methodologies will help deter police misconduct more effectively and strengthen public confidence in the great work done by our law enforcement officers.”

U.S. Attorney Polite particularly acknowledged FBI Special Agent in Charge Anderson for participating in and providing financial support for the event.